Part of Me
by LalaithoftheBruinen
Summary: COMPLETE! Songfic. Not Slash (read my profile-I don't write it) Little Estel learns about death. Very sweet and somewhat angsty...Please Read and Review!


Author's note: I do not own Lord of the Rings; that honor belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien. I also do not own "Lullabye". That beautiful song belongs to Billy Joel.  
  
This is a songfic I thought up after thinking about a little child asking about death. I'm sorry if the Elvish is awful!! Please Read and Review!!! Hugs and bunnies!!!  
  
tithin min-little one  
  
ada-father/dad  
  
italics-song lyrics  
  
' ' -thoughts  
  
"Ada! Ada!" cried a five-year-old Estel tearfully as he cradled a tiny sparrow in his little hands. Elrond hastened to the boy, fearing that he was injured. Relieved that the child was unhurt he knelt in front of his crying son, "What is it tithin min?"  
  
"Bird will not wake, ada! He is sick! Make him better, ada!" pleaded Estel, offering the bird to the Elf-lord. Gently Elrond took the tiny animal and looked compassionately into his foster-son's eyes, "Estel, tithin min, I cannot heal it..."  
  
"Why not ada?" demanded the boy.  
  
"Its spirit has left for the Halls of Mandos. I am sorry, tithin min...There is nothing I can do. Death has claimed it," Elrond answered as gently as possible. Tears welled in the child's eyes and overflowed. Elrond laid the dead bird aside and gathered the crying boy into his arms, "Hush tithin min...It will be alright."  
  
Estel clutched the Elf-lord, the only father he'd ever known, crying for the bird and asked, "Why, ada? Why did the bird die?"  
  
"Because that is how Iluvitar commanded it. All mortal creatures must die. It was the bird's time to die..." Elrond trailed off as a realization hit him. Estel was a mortal, of the race of Men. One day Elrond would lose his son to death. Fear and sorrow weighed on his chest and he held Estel tighter.  
  
"Will I die too, ada?" sniffed Estel, as if he could hear the Elf's thoughts. Elrond swallowed the lump constricting his throat and nodded, answering, "Yes, Estel. But you will live for a long time yet..." The boy clutched Elrond tighter, "I don't wanna die, ada! I don't wanna leave you!"  
  
"Hush, tithin min. Do not worry about such things..." whispered the Elf.  
  
Goodnight my angel  
  
Time to close your eyes  
  
And save these questions for another day  
  
I think I know what you've been asking me  
  
I think you know what I've been trying to say  
  
Elrond cradled the boy close and took him inside to bed. As he tucked the five-year-old in, the boy asked, "Ada, you won't die like the bird? You won't leave me?"  
  
Elrond kissed the boy's forehead, "No, tithin min, I won't ever leave you..." he answered as he thought, 'But you will leave me...'  
  
I promised I would never leave you  
  
And you should always know  
  
Wherever you may go  
  
No matter where you are  
  
I never will be far away  
  
Elrond embraced his son as the man wept at the grave of a dear friend. The years had passed and Estel was now Aragorn, a Ranger of the North. It was one of his Ranger kin the future king now mourned and Elrond was reminded of the day, so many years ago, when his son had been in tears over a small, dead sparrow.  
  
Goodnight my angel  
  
Now it's time to sleep  
  
And still so many things I want to say  
  
Remember all the songs you sang for me  
  
When we went sailing on an em'rald bay  
  
Slowly the two went inside the nearby dwelling and once again, Elrond held his son as he wept until he fell asleep.  
  
And like a boat out on the ocean  
  
I'm rocking you to sleep  
  
Emotion filled Elrond. Fear and sorrow at the knowledge that Aragorn would die clenched his heart and a tear escaped his eye. Elrond studied the sleeping man, intent on memorizing everything about him for the day when death would separate them.  
  
The water's dark and deep inside this ancient heart  
  
You'll always be a part of me  
  
Elrond stood on the shore of the sea. He pulled Aragorn into a tight embrace. This was the last time he would see his son...Though Aragorn's spirit had not yet left for Mandos, Elrond was sailing to the Undying Lands, never to see Middle-earth or his son again.  
  
Goodnight my angel  
  
Now it's time to dream  
  
And dream how wonderful your life will be  
  
Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullabye  
  
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me  
  
Elrond watched his son stand on the shore and shrink into the distance, memorizing the moment. Though it was little comfort, Elrond realized that, though he would never hold his son again, Aragorn would live on in his heart and memory.  
  
Someday we'll all be gone  
  
But lullabyes go on and on  
  
They never die  
  
That's how you and I will be  
  
As the shore and his son disappeared into the distance, Elrond let his memories play in his mind and smiled through his tears. He had not lost Aragorn. His son lived in his memory forever.  
  
That's how you and I will be...  
  
Please review! It makes me happy! Hugs and bunnies! 


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